Mormon Vocabulary 2

© James F. Cartwright, 2015, revised and enlarged 2020, 2023.

I learned from comments/questions of participants in Writers’ Workshop at Lutheran Church of Honolulu, that Mormons often use vocabulary non-Mormons do not understand. A portion of the confusion arises from the unique polity of the Mormon Church: some terms used in common with other Christian denominations do not carry the same meaning in Mormon polity; other terms are unique to Mormonism. In addition, some terms explained here have local meaning. I first used the “Mormon Vocabulary” in an earlier publication, Symphonia. In this version, I have used bold type for main entries and for terms which are defined elsewhere in the vocabulary.

“AC, the”: Utah colloquialism for Utah State Agriculture College. Since 1957, Utah State University.

Bishop: The bishop in the Mormon Church is the local leader of a congregation or Ward made up of approximately 300 to 600 members. His position and authority compare with the parish priest in a typical Christian congregation. His tenure is usually for three years, after which he is released and frequently given another calling. He selects two counselors from male ward members; together they form the bishopric of the ward.

Councils of Seventy: For many years there was only one Council of Seventy, composed of seventy men who assisted the members of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles in conducting church affairs throughout the world. These men were also High Priests and held lifetime appointments. As the work of the church expanded with growing membership, additional councils of seventy were organized. Members of these additional councils of seventy are not called for their lifetime, but are released after a period of time.

Courts: a court is a disciplinary action undertaken by the Church to punish a form of disobedience. Courts may be held by the Bishop and his counselors if the person being disciplined is a woman or a man who does not hold the Melchizedek Priesthood. Men who hold the Melchizedek Priesthood must be tried by the stake high council and stake presidency.

Elder: An office within the Melchizedek Priesthood. Males called as missionaries are now ordained Elders, thus most Elders are quite young in age, beginning at age eighteen.

Endowment: A ceremony conducted in a Mormon Temple in which individuals receive blessings and make promises concerning their lives. The endowment ceremony is a symbolic tracing of life: persons symbolically follow the path of Adam and Eve through creation to the Garden of Eden to the Fall and then to a paradisaical state followed by an entrance to God’s presence in the Celestial Kingdom. Because the ceremony is viewed as a necessary step in one’s progress to return to the presence of God, Mormons also perform the endowment for those who have died without the opportunity of doing this while living. Faithful Mormons who have already taken out their own endowment return to the temple as proxies for someone who has died. One usually takes out their own endowment before going on a mission or getting married.

First Presidency: The President of the Church and his councilors make up the First Presidency. The president is also called the Prophet, Seer, and Revelator for the Church and the world. He becomes the president by seniority within the Quorum of Twelve Apostles.

General Authorities: A generic term referring to the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the Councils of Seventy.

High Priests: An office in the Melchizedek Priesthood. All members of ward bishoprics, stake high councils, and the general authorities of the church are high priests.

Lay Priesthood: All Mormon officials are lay ministers in that they have no academic or professional training for their appointment. Only the men in the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, the First Council of Seventy, and the First Presidency have life-time calls. All other officers have temporary calls: bishops usually for three years, stake presidents for five years, and members of other Councils of Seventy for three to five years. Only general authorities receive payment for service; all others are not paid, but support their families via whatever profession they practiced before their being called.

Melchizedek Priesthood is the higher priesthood in the Mormon Church with the Aaronic Priesthood, the lesser priesthood, being for boys ages 12 to 18. The Melchizedek Priesthood has three offices, High Priest, Seventy, and Elder. Men are ordained Elders when they leave for missionary work, now often at age 18; by the time they are in their late twenties, they are now ordained high priests; the office of seventy is now limited to the Quorums of the Seventy.

Priesthood: Only men are ordained to the priesthood. Before 1978 but after the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith, men of African descent were prohibited from being ordained; the Prophet Joseph ordained some African Americans to the priesthood. During the nineteenth century and perhaps early twentieth century, some groups of Pacific Islanders may also have been prohibited from the Melchizedek Priesthood.

Quorum of Twelve Apostles: After the First Presidency, the Quorum of Twelve Apostles is the highest governing body of the Mormon Church. It consists of twelve high priests chosen by other members of the Quorum and the First Presidency to fill vacancies within the Quorum when a death reduces the number in the First Presidency or the Quorum.

RM: Colloquialism for returned missionary.

Sealing: The portion of the temple ceremony which unites couples with their spouses and children to their parents for eternity. Sealings are done for the living and vicariously for those who have died.

Stake: This organizational level within the Mormon Church is similar to a diocese or synod in some Christian churches. A stake consists of a group of local Wards or congregations in the Mormon Church. The stake is presided over by a President and his councilors (usually two), comprising the stake presidency.

Stake High Council: An advisory body made up of twelve men from within the stake. All the men in the stake presidency and high council are High Priests. Members of the stake presidency and the stake high council are frequently released after three to five years. Members of the high council are called by the stake president with approval of his councilors and high council.

Temple: A Mormon temple is a separated, holy place with a specific worship within. It is only available to faithful members of the church who must obtain a recommend through an interview process, including separate interviews with the ward bishop and then with the stake president. As the member passes each interview, the appropriate authority adds his signature to the recommend. The recommend is valid for one year only, after which a new one is issued through the same interview process. One is not allowed to enter the temple itself without a valid, current, recommend.

Temple Garments: During a person’s first attending the Temple, when they take out their own Endowment, they are clothed in a holy garment which they are supposed to wear at all times unless temporarily engaged in an activity for which wearing the garment would be inappropriate, such as swimming, tennis, gymnastics, wrestling, or any similar activity during which the garments would be publicly visible. The garments for everyday wear have been modified over the years; currently they are usually in two pieces, a top which covers the shoulders and upper arms and a bottom or long boxer trunk which extends down toward the knees. Cloth symbols are sown into the garments to remind the wearer of covenants made during the endowment ceremony.

Temple Worker: a man or woman who has accepted the calling to work in the temple, helping people who have come to the temple either for their own endowment or as proxy for someone who has died. The men called as temple workers hold the Melchizedek Priesthood.

Tracting: The practice of Mormon missionaries going through a neighborhood, knocking on the door of every house to ask if the occupants would be willing to hear a message about the Mormon Church. The term may have originated from the tract of land on which a residential area was built or from the religious pamphlets or tracts the missionaries gave to anyone willing to accept one.

Trunky: Missionary idiom describing a missionary anxious to be released to return home; from “sitting on his suitcase or trunk.”

“U, the”: Colloquialism for the University of Utah.

Veil: The veil refers to that which separates mortals from God. Specifically in the temple ritual, it is the place at the end of the endowment where the person who is attending the temple either for themself or for a person who has died, is “tested” on the covenants made during the ceremony before being admitted through the veil into the presence of God. Temple workers accompany people attending the temple to the veil where they prompt the people if they need help. A worker in the temple plays the role of the divine being asking the questions at the veil.

Ward: A local congregation in Mormonism. With exception of some particular cases, wards are geographical in nature, similar to a parish in traditional Christianity. In the Mormon Church, however, a member’s opting to attend and belong to a neighboring ward is rarely allowed; one belongs to the ward in which she or he lives.

Washing and Anointing: First part of the temple ceremony for the living. When work is done for the dead, baptism is the first step in the temple ceremony; baptism for living persons is performed at least one year prior to their going to the Temple. The washing and anointing portion for the deceased person is frequently separated from the endowment and sealing portions so temple attendees usually perform only the endowment portion.

“Y, the”: Colloquialism for Brigham Young University.

“Mormon Vocabulary,” © 2015, revised and enlarged, 2020 and 2023.